This paper aims to explore the importance of religious identity amongst young second- and third-generation British Muslims. View Summary

This paper aims to explore the importance of religious identity amongst young second- and third-generation British Muslims. It further seeks to understand the influence, if any, religious identity has on their consumer behaviour, examining the global rise of an Islamic consumer against a more localised set of needs and preferences. Primary research for this paper consisted of qualitative interviews with young British Muslims in London and Greater Manchester, as well as a written reflection on identity and consumption completed by participants ahead of their interview. The findings of this research challenge existing assumptions around young British Muslims, and as such will be of interest to brands and research agencies alike.

This event report addresses how General Mills, the packaged-food group, is focusing on multicultural and millennial audiences. View Summary

This event report addresses how General Mills, the packaged-food group, is focusing on multicultural and millennial audiences.

While most brands are targeting younger shoppers and customers from various ethnic backgrounds, the real sweet spot could come from leveraging the points of overlap between these groups.

A three-point "recipe" for starting on this journey incorporates purpose-driven branding, using compelling insights to inform interesting messaging and ensuring these audiences are fully represented inside companies.

Pillsbury, Cheerios and Betty Crocker are all examples of brands that have successfully engaged new demographics by examining their marketing strategies with such priorities in mind.

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The Role of the Accent in Radio Advertisements to Ethnic Audiences: Does Emphasizing Ethnic Stereotypes Affect Spokesperson Credibility and Purchase Intention?

Advertisers often employ spokespeople who speak with an accent ("accented spokespeople") to promote products and services that are stereotypical of (or related to) a speaker's background. View Summary

Advertisers often employ spokespeople who speak with an accent ("accented spokespeople") to promote products and services that are stereotypical of (or related to) a speaker's background. This practice particularly is evident in radio advertisements, which offer no visual cues to aid in consumers' information processing. The current study examined the impact of using an accented spokesperson on listener evaluations of credibility; attitude toward the spokesperson; and the purchase likelihood of an advertised product or service.

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Why marketing research is falling flat: insights from Anheuser-Busch InBev

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, The Market Research Event, October 2014

This event report outlines three key ways that marketing research is failing brands, largely due to problems regarding consumer panels. View Summary

This event report outlines three key ways that marketing research is failing brands, largely due to problems regarding consumer panels.

One issue concerns "wave-to-wave" consistency, as the make-up of panels varies greatly between different rounds of research, so results vary and tracking becomes difficult.

Geographical depth is a major problem for most panel providers, who are able to pull together nationwide samples but struggle to achieve the necessary depth for exercises in specific cities and regions.

Hispanic consumers are frequently underrepresented in many forms of research, either because of language difficulties or the absence of determined efforts to connect with and recruit this vital audience.

This event report focuses on efforts by Macy's, the department-store chain, to reflect the changing face – and shape – of female consumers in America. View Summary

This event report focuses on efforts by Macy's, the department-store chain, to reflect the changing face – and shape – of female consumers in America.

Traditionally, the category convention has involved using thin, blonde, blue-eyed models, but this is not reflective of the US customer base today.

As such, Macy's is seeking to mirror the fuller figure that is now much admired among both multicultural and millennial audiences alike.

One example of how the firm is adapting its approach comes with the introduction of a product line from Thalía Sodi, the Mexican telenovela and recording star, who represents a very different kind of brand ambassador from the norm.

This study is designed to investigate the effect of gay-themed advertising as well as consumers' gender, tolerance towards homosexuality (low vs high tolerance) and consumers' brand commitment (low vs high commitment) on attitude towards ad and attitude towards brand. View Summary

This study is designed to investigate the effect of gay-themed advertising as well as consumers' gender, tolerance towards homosexuality (low vs high tolerance) and consumers' brand commitment (low vs high commitment) on attitude towards ad and attitude towards brand. The study result suggests that people exposed to non-gay-themed ads had more positive attitudes towards the brand than did people exposed to gay-themed ads. The study findings suggest that ads featuring homosexual imagery could lead to negative brand evaluation. The study finds that heterosexual males exposed to such ads had less favourable attitudes towards the advertising and brand as well. The study finds that subjects with high tolerance towards homosexuality have more positive attitudes towards the ad and brand, and have higher purchase intention than do subjects with low tolerance. Furthermore, the results suggest that people with high brand commitment had more favourable attitudes towards ad and brand. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

This event report shows how Kraft, the food group, is adopting a nuanced approach to multicultural advertising. View Summary

This event report shows how Kraft, the food group, is adopting a nuanced approach to multicultural advertising.

An on-going debate among marketers is whether traditional multicultural models based on reaching distinct groups of shoppers should be replaced by a total-market strategy aiming to reach all of them at the same time.

Kraft is adopting different techniques on a case-by-case basis, depending on the relevant insights, purchase drivers and specific position of each brand.

Creative quality is a key consideration for all of the organisation's output, as this can be a "big magnifier" of effectiveness.

A surge in the U.S. Hispanic population is a wake-up call to identify and strengthen strategies for targeting this important demographic segment. View Summary

A surge in the U.S. Hispanic population is a wake-up call to identify and strengthen strategies for targeting this important demographic segment. comScore's Gian Fulgoni and Adam Lella offer strategic considerations: explore the plethora of publishers available for reaching young, bilingual Latinos who use both mobile and PC devices; create targeted content designed to be viral; and make mobile media the top priority.

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The Effect of Generational Status in Language-Tailored Political Messages

The current study explored the effect of language-tailored political television advertisements on young-adult Latinos who live in the United States. View Summary

The current study explored the effect of language-tailored political television advertisements on young-adult Latinos who live in the United States. It included the case of the 2008 presidential campaign as well as a simulated experiment performed two years later for a cross-validation purpose. Findings indicated that the effectiveness of political advertising on young-adult Latinos depends not only on the language used in the political advertisement but on the viewers' generational status.

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Are You Reaching the Black-American Consumer? How the Rise of U.S. Multiculturalism Ended Up Sending Mixed Marketing Messages

This paper argues that too much of what we see in marketing - while tolerant and inclusive toward Black-Americans - is neither entrenched nor rooted in their experiences or cultural insights. View Summary

This paper argues that too much of what we see in marketing - while tolerant and inclusive toward Black-Americans - is neither entrenched nor rooted in their experiences or cultural insights. The messages they receive from brands often do not reflect their lives and have little connection with how they spend their hard-earned $1.03 trillion (and growing) buying power. The "Black void," however, has generated a new opportunity for the Black community to leverage its collective clout to be recognized and involved to drive change. Examples of that change include the hiring of Black actors for key roles in popular American television series, such as "Saturday Night Live"; creator Shondra Rhimes' Black frame of reference in "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal;" and dedicated cable channels such as Magic Johnson's Aspire, and BET's partnership with rapper Queen Latifah.

18

Turning against the tide: The fight to bring back JCPenney

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David Ward, ANA Magazine, Summer 2014, pp. 29-56

This article explains how JCPenney, the US department store chain, is turning around its fortunes by using data to segment and target its audiences, and integrating creative TV ad campaigns with social. View Summary

This article explains how JCPenney, the US department store chain, is turning around its fortunes by using data to segment and target its audiences, and integrating creative TV ad campaigns with social.

JCPenney had alienated long-term customers with a series of changes that had caused them to lose faith in the brand, including moving from special promotions to 'every day low prices' and introducing new brands in 'mini-stores'.

Vast amounts of data have helped the company make fast changes in-store, with customers seen as 'voting' on layouts every day, and responses implemented quickly.

A series of ads centred around high-profile TV events have grabbed attention, including a series of Super Bowl tweets which attracted accusations of drunkenness, a Sochi Winter Olympics campaign that parodied a 1990s Blackstreet song, and an Academy Awards campaign targeting women.

Success has been driven by the segmentation of customers and close targeting, including greater focus on women, and Latina women in particular.

This article explains the Brand Cross-Cultural Index, which ranks brands in the US based on their ability to build meaningful connections across ethnic segments. View Summary

This article explains the Brand Cross-Cultural Index, which ranks brands in the US based on their ability to build meaningful connections across ethnic segments.

The ranking is based on a brand's Brand Power - a predictive volume share based purely on perception, which indicates the room for growth among Hispanic-, African- and Asian-Americans.

Brand ideals founded in core human insights will work across cultural boundaries; to make meaningful connections with ethnic consumers, brands must balance the relevancy of messages with their reach.

Cross-cultural marketing can work the other way too; leading with ethnic insights can increase brand value.

Examples of strong Brand Power are provided in three categories: quick service restaurants, beer and banking.

20

Why Hispanic shoppers are vital for Clorox

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, Omni-Channel Activation, June 2014

This event report explains how Clorox, the cleaning products company, is targeting Hispanic consumers in the US including new product development and digital marketing. View Summary

This event report explains how Clorox, the cleaning products company, is targeting Hispanic consumers in the US including new product development and digital marketing.

As this group grows it is attracting increased attention from brands, including Clorox which already enjoys a higher dollar share with Hispanics for some brands.

Research has identified differences in Hispanics' cleaning behaviour, including cleaning rituals passed through generations and a three-step approach.

This has led to product innovation specifically targeted at Hispanics - Fragranzia - and nuanced digital marketing which recognises difference within Hispanic communities.

21

How Honey Maid connected with families in America

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Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, Internet Week New York, May 2014

This event report discusses how Honey Maid, Mondelez International's brand of graham crackers, has aimed to reflect changing social norms and values in America. View Summary

This event report discusses how Honey Maid, Mondelez International's brand of graham crackers, has aimed to reflect changing social norms and values in America. Such a shift has been encapsulated by the evolution of the American family – whether that takes the form of families with two dads or two mothers, parents from different ethnic backgrounds, or a single father raising a child. Honey Maid was also undergoing a change, launching new products, attempting to reach new segments, and trying to modernise its "wholesome" image. Working with agency Droga5, it developed the "This is Wholesome" campaign, which featured a diverse mix of real families in ads and online documentaries. Having received a wave of positive feedback – and a smaller amount of vocal criticism – the brand released a response video, based around the theme of love, on social media. This content rapidly received millions of hits, alongside reaffirming its commitment to inclusiveness.

22

NASCAR's recession pit stop recharges branding program

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Geoffrey Precourt, Event Reports, ARF Re:Think, March 2014

This event report looks at how NASCAR, the US car racing league, reoriented its business towards attracting new millennial fans in response to economic recession. View Summary

This event report looks at how NASCAR, the US car racing league, reoriented its business towards attracting new millennial fans in response to economic recession. The league came under pressure from 2008 and 2009 as recession dealt a double blow of reducing numbers of fans and reducing corporate sponsorship. In response, research was commissioned which found the sport's fan base was ageing, leading to a strategy to attract millennials. This included a focus on digital, with the development of new mobile apps to allow greater connectivity at the track. Additional strategies focussed on Hispanic audiences - as research had found them to be interested in cars and the unpredictability of NASCAR races - and very young consumers (aged 8-12). A new youth platform to be launched in 2014 will focus on education; explaining how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (so called 'STEM' subjects) support the racing cars.

23

How market researchers can reach out to minority groups

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Joseph Clift, Event Reports, MRS Annual Conference, March 2014

This event report discusses how market researchers can engage with pockets of consumers who are often neglected or hard to reach. View Summary

This event report discusses how market researchers can engage with pockets of consumers who are often neglected or hard to reach. In attempting to replace its out-dated telephone system for deaf consumers, Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, partnered with Opinion Leader on a mix of qualitative and quantitative projects, which revealed some previously-anticipated findings, and identified several surprising areas where this audience was discriminated against. On its part, Southwark Council wanted to increase its knowledge about consumers from four different national backgrounds who had not been picked up the national census. Thanks to a mix of ethnography, “node-to-peer surveys” and workshops, it was able to better meet the specific needs of these groups.

24

Quality mobile research

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Steve August, Admap, March 2014, pp. 41-43

This article describes the impact of mobile technology on qualitative research, arguing that this equates to a paradigm shift in its ability to give researchers access to behavioural insights in the real-world. View Summary

This article describes the impact of mobile technology on qualitative research, arguing that this equates to a paradigm shift in its ability to give researchers access to behavioural insights in the real-world. Three examples of the value of mobile are given: a project which looked at how economic difficulties had changed the role of US fathers in their families; Proctor and Gamble research into Latina consumers, in order to develop a new hair care product; and research to understand why a diaper brand lost market share as babies grew bigger. These examples show that mobile research allows the capture of revelatory moments in a much more immediate way than other methods.

25

ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards 2013: Meet the winners

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ANA Magazine, Winter 2014, pp. 30-38

This article presents three winning campaigns of the 2013 ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards, and explains what made them successful. View Summary

This article presents three winning campaigns of the 2013 ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards, and explains what made them successful. City Year, an education organisation which recruits young adults to work in schools with children at-risk, used a combined social media and an offline campaign to increase brand awareness. The organisation's volunteers were invited to tweet about their experiences using a dedicated hashtag, and from this print and other ads were created that highlighted these personal stories. The brand increased its awareness and levels of volunteering. Pampers, the baby products brand owned by P&G, was awarded for its use of a classical music event with an 'honouring motherhood' theme which targeted Hispanic mothers. The audience shared their experience on social media, with videos from the event exceeding the company's social sharing benchmarks. The final campaign described was by General Mills for its Lucky Charms cereal brand, which wanted to communicate its values. A new product launch coincided with LGBT Pride Month, and so the brand chose a positive campaign which invited people to share why they are lucky to be them. This ran across social media and generated a positive response from the LGBT community.